Lessons on Success from Mozart, Picasso & Kobe Bryant

by Jairaj Singh, Associate Partner, Lighthouse International

How long does it take to achieve success and how does one become successful? It’s a question that has gone through many of our minds now and again right? Well, what if I told you it would take you 10 years from where you are now? Would you still embark on it? Would you not believe me? Would you recoil at the thought and think you could do it quicker? Maybe you can, I don’t know. What I do know is that when you study the masters, when you look at the legacies of the greats, you see that they spent at least 10 years honing their craft. That’s 10 years of developing themselves and the people around them.

That’s 10 years of delaying gratification and going against the grain in pursuit of their passions. James Clear is someone who has done some fantastic research in this field and the article below on Mozart, Kobe Bryant and Picasso has a number of lessons for all of us. Not least in the discipline that is required to achieve true success. It doesn’t mean we all have to take 10 years, mentorship is often a legitimate shortcut to get there a lot quicker, but what it does point to is that there is no escaping the consistent effort and hard work that is needed on the path to success.

Enjoy the article here and feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below. I also encourage you to sign up for James Clear’s newsletter too, it’s very inspiring for those of us who want to develop better habits in our lives. The one aspect that I would emphasise that he doesn't quite touch on though, is the importance of having the right support and accountability to follow through with our goals. From personal experience that has been THE single most fundamental ingredient in developing my own character, level of discipline and a compelling vision for my life.